Not Quite so Stern
by Catharmel
Summary: Severus, a masculine name meaning 'stern'. Canon shows a man who lives up to it. We know his story, the tragedy of life and love, loss and sacrifice, pain and pressure. This time, Eileen Snape gives birth to a baby girl. Will she do any better?
1. Chapter 1

**Not Quite so Stern**

**Summary**: Severus, a masculine name meaning 'stern'. Canon shows a man who lives up to it. We know his story, the tragedy of life and love, loss and sacrifice, pain and pressure. This time, Eileen Snape gives birth to a baby girl. Will she do any better?

_Chapter One_

"_**AAAAAAAAAHHHHH**_!"

Eileen Snape was not your average woman. She was brilliant, brave, and, if you squinted a certain way, rather beautiful. (She was also a bitch, sometimes, but who could blame her?) She was also a witch, a woman capable of casting magical spells.

Or, rather, she _had been _a witch. She still had magic, of course, nothing would take that away, but being a witch was more than just having the ability. Having the _potential_ to write lovely stories didn't make anyone a writer, now did it?

Magic was the same. Eileen hadn't picked up a wand in ages, and the last time she had even been near a potion was at least five years ago, when she had left the Wizarding World to marry Tobias Snape.

They'd met in the very village they now lived in, one summer night while Eileen was on vacation from Hogwarts. He'd called her beautiful, and given her flowers, and she was smitten.

It was a whirlwind romance, in all sense of the word. She had been too swept up to realize she knew really nothing about him, beyond the fact that he liked beer better than brandy, and that he could be very sweet.

Her parents disapproved, of course; the only daughter of the Prince family, marry a common Muggle? Heresy! He was trash, and she was a Pureblood!

But Eileen had been in love, and defiantly married Tobias anyway. Her parents disowned her, but what did that matter when she could be with the man she loved?

Of course, that was the reason Eileen Snape, née Prince, was now giving birth in a tiny little Muggle clinic just outside Cokeworth. Tobias hadn't wanted to drive to the hospital, said it was too far, and anyway, there was a pub across the street, wasn't it perfect?

Eileen gritted her teeth, as the contractions started again. This inner monologue was, at least, helping to distract her from the cacophonous noise of inexperienced nurses shouting at her.

_"Push! Push, Missus Snape, you've got to PUSH!"_

_"Won't be too long now, Missus Snape, don't you worry! Your baby will be healthy as a bird!"_

_"That's great, really great work! Keep going, you're almost there now!"_

It was one of the most irritating things she had ever experienced. Perhaps her temper wasn't helped by the pain of trying to push out a seven-pound baby out of her body, but the nurses were absolutely useless.

If she'd wanted to give birth the natural way, she griped, she would've done so at home, and then at least Tobias might be less drunk tonight! No, Eileen wanted to go to St. Mungo's, she wanted the comforts and securities of magic, she wanted to go back to the World she knew and loved, and damnit, she wanted it now!

...

_(I apologize for the interruption, my dear reader, but before we go on there is something that must be explained. _

_In another time, another world, or whatever it is you would call it, Eileen Snape would have conceived and given birth to a baby boy. She would have named him Severus, to give him the strength and sternness she believed he would need in his life, and that was that._

_In __**this**__ story, however, Eileen's would-be-child was a girl. As this is storytelling and not science, I won't go into detail about what this changed inside our currently-main-character, but suffice to say that things __**were**__ changed. Hormones that would have been one thing were another, and this in fact made our next scene much more possible than it was...)_

_..._

Just as Eileen could feel the start of another of the blasted contractions, she felt herself squeezing far more than she had been squeezing before. In fact, it wasn't even her this time -

She had enough sense of her surroundings to wearily take note of the blackness, the compression of her body - oh, her stomach felt like hell had crawled out of it, then tried to crawl back in!

She couldn't even shout, her teeth were shaking so badly... And then it stopped, and she couldn't see anything but bright white light, and she couldn't hear anything but her own screaming.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

I've finally decided to start working on another story! I was looking at some fantastic fanart by viria13, on deviantart, and her HP drawings are amazing. This soon-to-be story was inspired by her Marauder stuff, especially, and I'm incredibly excited about it. :)

I couldn't let go of the idea of a fem!Snape. She'll definitely still be friends with Lily, but what would change? Would James ++ still be such horrible bullies? ;) I'll do my best to update soon.

* * *

**Omake:**

"Mmmm," Eileen smacked her lips happily, and reached for another piece of fruit.

It had been such a long time since she'd been able to eat watermelon. Tobias didn't like them, and he didn't tolerate what he didn't like. Nevermind the fact that it was the middle of summer and bloody hot.

Noooooo, all the fruit Tobias would even _consider _eating was apples. Apples, apples, apples! If she ever saw another apple again, she'd throw up!

"No, Eileen," the heavily pregnant woman muttered to herself, patting her stomach absently, "Don't think about the bastard now. Let's just enjoy this lovely watermelon."

Eileen reached for the remote under one of the sofa cushions, and flipped the tv to the Kids' Channel. She smirked.

"Hahaha, Tobias _hates _the Kids' Channel," she chuckled deviously. "Says it's too stupid - who's he to talk, the bloody idiot?" She heaved herself to her feet, and turned on the stereo, humming evilly as she tuned it to the Childrens' Songs Station.

_(And that, my dear readers, is how Eileen ended up giving birth to a girl instead of a boy. Just kidding. Any The Sims 3 players out there that get the reference? No? All right, then, just leave me to wallow with no reviews.) _


	2. Chapter 2

**Not Quite so Stern**

**Summary**: Severus, a masculine name meaning 'stern'. Canon shows a man who lives up to it. We know his story, the tragedy of life and love, loss and sacrifice, pain and pressure. This time, Eileen Snape gives birth to a baby girl. Will she do any better?

_Chapter Two_

Eileen's eyes fluttered, and the darkness gradually began to recede into bright light. Had… Had she died? She remembered being angry with the Muggle nurses, and the pain, and then wanting to go back to where she _belonged_…

She blinked rapidly, as the white light she had thought to be the clinic's old lamp suddenly proved otherwise. The brightness _moved_, from left to right, and then disappeared as a more natural and less blinding light took its place.

"Good, good," a woman's voice said, sounding relieved, "Nice eye response, it looks like this one might make it after all."

"She shouldn't have had to _make it_," another voice, a man's this time, growled. "She's a witch, she Apparated! And without a wand, for Merlin's sake, now that she's stable we'll need to call in someone from the DMLE..." The voice grew softer as footsteps thudded across the wooden floor.

Over time, Eileen had become rather proficient in making the most of her sense of hearing. Due to the… _circumstances_ of her marriage, she could tell the difference between the footsteps of someone leaving a room, and someone simply pacing. (If asked, Eileen would say something about the decisiveness of the sound, or the way the heels clacked on the floor; in all honesty, she could only tell by whether she felt relieved or wary at the sound, but that didn't sound nearly as impressive.) She was also quite averse to dealing with men, as in her experience with them, they had the tendency to become drunk, angry, and violent.

From what she had heard, she had somehow, someway or another managed to perform Apparition. She was now in the hands of a witch and a wizard, and judging by the sound of those footsteps, the man had left the room. Eileen opened her eyes fully, and saw a woman wearing white robes, and holding a wand aloft. She started when she saw Eileen awake, and smiled warmly.

"Oh, dear, you're awake already! I'm so glad, you gave us quite the fright! Honestly, Apparating into the Lobby like that, in the middle of childbirth, and without a wand! Oh! I can't imagine – but you'll probably be wanting to know about the baby, of course," she said very quickly. Eileen blinked, and nodded. In all honesty, she'd nearly forgotten about her child in the middle of all of it – all she could remember was pain, and wanting it to stop. Perhaps that didn't make her a very good mother, but then she'd spent nearly all her pregnancy trying to make Tobias forget about the child, and that wasn't exactly conducive to motherly instincts. Assuming she still had any, of course.

The woman hurried out the door, and Eileen took the moment to look at her surroundings. It was safe to, since she was alone in the room. It was small, and the walls were white, which had contributed to the brightness she'd seen when she woke up. There wasn't much furniture in the room, but what there was, was incredibly clean. Her sheets and comforter were white, and there was the smell of sterilizing alcohol in the air.

Eileen began to suspect she was in St. Mungo's, after all. A relieved smile broke across the woman's normally stoic face, and the prettiness she'd thought she'd lost during her marriage shone in her face. She… She had done it, then, she'd managed to leave that dreadful Muggle excuse of a hospital, and found her way back to the world she loved so dearly. Truly, the only reason she'd left it in the first place was the thought that she loved Tobias even more, but…

And then when she'd finally been _relieved_ of that delusion, like waking up from a dream only to find herself stuck in a nightmare, she hadn't had access to her wand, and she'd been pregnant. She couldn't risk running – where would she go? With a child, especially? Her parents had disowned her. She had no siblings, and no real friends. She had thought herself going on a grand adventure, gleefully cutting ties to all the people she knew, thinking herself above them, believing in the purity of her love instead of her blood…

She had been wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong, the kind of wrong that had no 'undo' button, and couldn't be fixed at all, only built over. Besides that, what if Tobias caught her? What if he found her before she could escape, or worse, what if she was forced to come crawling back to him? There was nothing she would do to risk that happening, even if staying gave her no chance of escape at all. With a child on the way, she hadn't even wanted to; for all his faults, at least Tobias would give them a roof over their heads, and food…

But she was here, now. Back in the Wizarding World. There was no more risk of being caught, and she was no longer pregnant. If she could just find herself some work, maybe find a day-care center… So close to all the things she knew and loved, the magic in the air, the wizards and witches wearing robes, the easy convenience of flicking a wand to light a flame, all that she had taken for granted before –

She would even go and see her parents, if she had to. She would bring them their grandchild, and ask for forgiveness… And if that didn't work, she would find her own way in the world… In _her_ world.

There were footsteps again, quick and sharp this time, like a woman's heel clicking against wood. The woman – _healer_, Eileen corrected herself, she was in all likelihood at St. Mungo's – was carrying a baby in her arms. A tiny little bundle, wrapped inside a pink blanket… A girl, then. She had a daughter.

Eileen smiled again, and even let out a nervous giggle. She… She was meeting her child for the first time. And for the first time, she truly felt like she could hope for something better, like there was something beyond Spinner's End. That hellhole had been her world for far too long, and she had only just begun to believe she had escaped the fate of ending up a bitter old widow; the spider of Spinner's End. When she had learned she was pregnant, she had resigned herself to the fate of staying with her _husband_ until their child was grown, if only for the child. She would not have left her son or daughter, and she'd had no safe way of leaving.

Coming to St. Mungo's as she had was beyond her wildest imagination, and she could only smile and let slip the odd giggle, all in disbelief. Her baby girl had made it all possible… Her hope. Her Sperantia. It was Pureblood tradition to name one's child according to what they wanted, what they felt for the child. Latin names were used because Latin was the language of the Magic, and it was an ancient belief that Magic herself would bless the child according to its name.

Eileen's own name meant 'Shining Light', and she had bitterly thought that the Magic must not have heard her parents' Naming Ritual properly. When she had awoken tonight, though, to the bright whiteness, with no more pain and only a familiar sense of the energies in the air… Well, she had finally felt light enough to hope again. It was like the weight of her failure of a marriage and life, all the despair of losing everything and everyone, and the misery of believing this would be a near-permanent state… It was all gone, evaporated in the light.

And Eileen was determined to keep it that way, thank you very much.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

Oh, god. This completely ran away from me. What started out as a tiny little plot cell has somehow evolved into a full-grown bunny, and I have plans for this story. Not that I didn't; Sev was supposed to be renamed Cecilia, which means 'blind', and I'd planned for Eileen to want her to grow up blind to her mother's suffering. Somehow, Eileen managed to grab a much happier alternative from me, regardless of my plans. The next update will probably be next week, I've been doing a lot of studying for college entrance lately, and writing is a nice way to wind down. Please leave a review to let me know what you think of it!

* * *

****

Omake:

Two nurses stared at the suddenly-empty bed in front of them. Janey in particular was sure there'd been a woman in there, giving birth; she and Leslie had been assisting! But then suddenly the womand had up and left, somehow… There was nothing left in the bed but a bit of blood, and…

"_**OOOOOOOUUUUUUAAAAAAAGHHHHHHH!**_"

There was a shriek, and then a thud, and Janey didn't have to look over to know that Leslie had up and fainted. That slip of a girl was much too prissy, Janey had been saying it from the start… What sort of midwife-cum-nurse wore pink pumps on the first day of work, hey? Not a good one, that's what Janey had said.

No, leave all the proper midwifery work to Janey any day, heaven knows she was the only one who could handle it. But then… even she didn't know quite what was to be done with the baby head left bleedin' out on the mostly-white sheets.

(… Yes, I did think about the possibility of splinching, and how ridiculous it seems to be able to Apparate without a wand – especially considering Eileen's a fully grown, fully trained witch, and is much too old for accidental magic. Her child, though, who considered her mother's body part of hers, isn't. So there.)


	3. Chapter 3

**Not Quite so Stern**

**Summary**: Severus, a masculine name meaning 'stern'. Canon shows a man who lives up to it. We know his story, the tragedy of life and love, loss and sacrifice, pain and pressure. This time, Eileen Snape gives birth to a baby girl. Will she do any better?

_Chapter Three_

* * *

Fast forward eight years later, and the brightness of that hope had dimmed to a more comfortably sustainable glow of contentment. Eileen Prince was happy with her life, and she had good reason to be. Her parents had taken her back in after all, though they had made a great deal of fuss about it. The word they put out to the rest of respectable Pureblood society was that she'd been psychologically _ill_, and now she was better.

It may seem odd, but Purebloods did not much mind mental weaknesses. This was because magic was more connected to the strength of one's body and blood than one's mental wellness. The more one lost of themselves, the more that was filled up with the wildness of the magic already running through their veins. It was why the Dark Lord was still so popular; he was obviously Pure of blood, descended from the great Salazar Slytherin himself. It did not matter if his tactics were a bit odd, the man was all-powerful in the Magicks, and that was that.

Magic was, after all, the only thing that separated them from the Muggles. It was what made them better, more powerful. Eileen had been welcomed back into society, and her friends had spoken nothing more of the incident. Her parents had taken longer to forgive and forget, since she had gone directly against their will, but they too did not bear much grudge. Blood, and therefore family, was superlative.

Servius and Aurora Prince, while not the sort of grandparents that took the child to the park or baked them treats, were certainly good ones. Servius' life goal, Eileen overheard him whisper to her mother once, was the preservation and continuation of the Prince family. Servius' elder siblings had all died young, and his parents not long after, to an outbreak of Spattergroit. They loved Sperantia, well enough that they avoided any mention of her heritage if they could help it. She _was_, after all, still magical.

Mother and child had moved into Prince Manor, and their lives were enriched not only figuratively by the freeness in the atmosphere's magic, and the loving and nurturing environment, but also literally. The Princes were an old, rich family, with money going back millennia before. It would be foolish, and a waste of time, to pretend that they did not use these riches to their benefit.

Sperantia received excellent tutelage in a wide variety of subjects, though she was very young. She had tutors who taught her how to read, and how to write. She learned basic mathematics and children's magical theory. She learned a number of languages (as everyone knew that children learned languages best young, when they were still in that state of soaking up information like sponges). She was able in Latin and German, though she much preferred French, and English was her first tongue.

Her lessons, of course, were not intense – she was a little girl, and the basics were mostly to serve as a foundation for further study when she was older. Which, Eileen Prince thought with a sigh, was what brought her here now.

Her little girl was growing up, and was now already eight years in age. She was ready for more intermediate learning, and more than ready for increased social interaction with those her age. There were the occasional society balls where little children were allowed, of course, and the play dates with the other Families, but she would need to get used to making friends on her own.

"I'm sure Sperantia will be a wonderful addition to the Academy, Madam Prince," the young office clerk said happily. She tucked her blonde hair behind her ear and stepped out from behind the desk she had been sitting at, and waved an enthusiastic, nail-polished hand at the door. "Allow me to escort you two to the classrooms!"

Eileen managed a small, meant-to-be-reassuring smile when Sperantia looked up at her. In truth, Eileen had hated Primary School. She hadn't been the friendliest little girl, and her interests had run more along the lines of potions than make-up; while the others had wanted to giggle about boys, she'd wanted to giggle about the properties of Newt's Tongue. The boys hadn't been much better.

Regardless, she had hope that Sperantia would have an easier time of it. Little Antia was precocious, yes, but she was also very kind. A bit shy, perhaps, but she got along well with the Malfoy boy, and she'd seen her daughter reading books with the eldest Black girl a few times. Eileen was confident Antia would do well enough.

"Here we are," the clerk said cheerfully, when they came to stop in front of a large cherry wood door. Engraved into the wood was the image of a dragon, and a small enchanted flame burned out of its mouth steadily. Their guide rapped at the door quickly, and then pushed it open, to reveal a small classroom.

There were perhaps ten other students in the room, seated atop cushions set in a circle on the marble floor. They were all dressed in tiny black robes, with the Academy's coat of arms sewn in at the breast. The teacher, an older lady whose nametag pronounced her to be Mrs. Galuinne, smiled at them.

"Class, continue your efforts with the puddles," she called out, with the slightest hint of a French accent. Mrs. Galuinne came over to the doorway and introduced herself. Eileen gave the woman points for holding her hand out to shake Antia's as well, and not just hers. This was a woman who respected children; always a good sign in a teacher.

"I am certain Miss Sperantia will do well in our section," Mrs. Galuinne said, smiling. Eileen had thought the clerk was just singularly effusive, but perhaps it was a school policy? "Dragon Class is for some of the most gifted children in our institution, and she will fit in splendidly. If you will, Miss Sperantia?"

Antia turned to her mother, and clasped her hand in a silent goodbye. They had embraced before leaving Prince Manor. "Be well, Antia," Eileen spoke softly, giving her daughter one last, small smile. She would see her daughter again after classes, as the Academy was not a boarding school. They would have enough of that at Hogwarts; now, Eileen wanted to spend as much time as she could with her daughter.

When Antia had entered the room, and the door was shut, she gave the clerk who'd led them a polite nod of thanks, before leaving. She walked the hallway towards one of several Flooing Rooms. Not just anyone could Floo in, of course; wards had been set up so only a few could enter and exit. Parents were permitted through the wards, but only if they were on record as the child's Designated Companion. Each child could have only one, and guests had to pass through the Main Floo in Security before being allowed entrance to the grounds. The security level was one reason the Academy was a favorite among those of Society.

Eileen took some of the specially gilt Floo Powder from the mantle of a fireplace, and tossed it into the flame. With a calm declaration of "Prince Manor", she was whisked away back home.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Oh, my God. This chapter was being difficult. In the end I decided to use this as sort of a filler, to get Eileen out of the picture and to bring the focus more onto Antia.

Oh, also, Servius is a Latin name meaning 'to preserve', and Aurora is 'dawn'. I thought they fit in nicely. What do you think? Cookies for reviewers!

* * *

**Omake:**

"I'm not so much upset about your little _temper tantrum_ with that Muggle filth, Eileen," Aurora Prince said coldly, setting her cup of Lady Grey tea down onto the saucer. Not even a good cup of tea could calm her down now, and that was saying something; Aurora was British, for God's sake. Her daughter had disappointed her just one time too many.

"Do you want to know _what_ exactly is so unforgivable?" Aurora continued, glaring icicles at her daughter. Eileen was seated across from her, and held the cup of tea to her lips, though Aurora knew she had finished the tea ages ago. Silly girl, trying to hide behind the china. And then _this_, what exactly did Aurora do wrong with her?

"No, Eileen," she continued, folding her gloved hands into her lap and crossing her legs. It all felt like things she should be doing while angry, and she hoped it made her look more intimidating. She needed to get this point across to her silly thing of a daughter. "What really upsets me... Is the ridiculous thing of a name you gave Sperantia!"

When Eileen set down the cup - onto the _lace tablecloth_, a part of Aurora bemoaned, _there was a saucer right THERE _- and glared back at her mother, she decided to elaborate. She didn't know Eileen cared so much about the name. Perhaps there was some emotional, dramatic backstory behind Sperantia's Naming, who knew?

"Do you know how many generations of women in our family have had names connected to the light?" Aurora said desperately, giving up all pretenses of intimidation and dragging her perfectly manicured fingers through her hair. "Thirty-two! Thirty-two generations of mothers and daughters, all making sure to remember and Name their girls the proper way! Lita! Lucinda! Lumina! Aurora! Eileen! And then you go and name your daughter _Hope_!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Not Quite so Stern**

**Summary**: Severus, a masculine name meaning 'stern'. Canon shows a man who lives up to it. We know his story, the tragedy of life and love, loss and sacrifice, pain and pressure. This time, Eileen Snape gives birth to a baby girl. Will she do any better?

_Chapter Four_

* * *

And yet, there was something exciting about the prospect of making new friends. Antia was friendly with some of her mum's friends' kids, but that was different. She wanted to find someone to befriend on her _own_, someone she chose and someone who chose her. Antia enjoyed talking to 'Dromeda, and they had some good conversations about books they'd read, but she wanted a friend who hadn't been told to be nice to her.

She smiled shyly at the class while Mrs. Galuinne introduced her. The class looked friendly enough – _Now, give Sperantia a good welcome, class! "Welcome to the class, Sperantia!" _– and if she was in the smart class, then she might actually have some interesting conversation. She never got along well with 'Dromeda's sisters. While Cissa and Bella were closer to her in age, they were more interested in talking about hair and robes than books.

"There's an empty seat beside Lily, Sperantia," Mrs. Galuinne said, pointing. "Lily, dear, raise your hand."

A pretty girl with the reddest hair Antia had ever seen raised her hand primly, smiling widely to reveal metal on her teeth. _Braces_, she remembered the book had called them. Strange things that Muggles put in their mouths. She returned the smile –_ she must've been Muggle-raised, then! She could probably tell me all about the Muggle World _– and slipped into the aforementioned seat, setting her book bag down onto the floor beside her.

"Now, then," Mrs. Galuinne turned her back on the class to begin writing on the blackboard, "Back to the lesson…"

"Hi," the girl – _Lily_, she reminded herself – whispered to her. "I'm Lily, it's nice to meet you. Would you like me to help you catch up on some of the lessons later during break?" A quick glance into the friendly girl's eyes – _and oh, how green!_ – showed they didn't have any mischief to them, the way Bella's did when she was trying to trick her, so she nodded. "I would like that, thank you," she whispered back.

Lily's smile grew into a grin, and she winked before turning back to Mrs. Galuinne, who was now flicking a quill like it was a wand.

* * *

"So, Sperantia, right?"

Mrs. Galuinne had dismissed them, and while most of the other students had piled out of the room, Lily had crossed her legs and turned to face her. Her leather messenger bag was still on the seat beside her, so Antia assumed they would be staying in the room for this. She twisted to her right, trying to get more comfortable (_the problem with right-handed desks meant this was very difficult_), before answering.

"Antia, please," she wrinkled her nose in distaste. "It's Latin, a family tradition, but it sounds terrible, doesn't it?"

"I've heard worse," Lily giggled, "Did you know we've got a classmate whose last name is 'Longbottom'? I don't mean to be rude, really, but…"

Antia snorted a little. "Right, Frankie Longbottom, I've met him before. You haven't laughed about it to his face though, have you? Because his family's really influential, you know – "

"No, no, of course not," Lily said hastily, waving her hands around as if banishing the very thought. "I just mean, we were talking about funny names, and, I really didn't mean any disrespect – "

"Don't worry about it," Antia cut her off, "Really, just don't say it in public or anything and it's probably fine. There are lots of Families that are strict about that sort of thing, but I don't mind it."

"Oh," Lily relaxed a bit at that, and the tenseness in her shoulders left. "That's good, I mean, thanks. I – I ran into some trouble when I first got here, with some of the older kids, they didn't like the fact that I'm _Muggleborn_ – " and here she looked at Antia quickly, as though she was looking for a reaction. When Antia only blinked, she went on – "And they picked on me for a bit, but I got transferred to this class and now they leave me alone. I still, um, I still prefer to stay in the classroom during breaks though, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all," Antia declared, "But, I mean, don't you want to go to the Library? It's supposed to be very good. It's part of why Mum decided to send me here, actually, instead of to the Lilliputian School."

Lily blinked, and tilted her head just the littlest bit to the right. "The – The older students told me that it was only for the higher years. I didn't want to go have a look and just be disappointed about not being able to go in…" She trailed off, and an angry glint in her eyes overtook the confusion.

Antia gathered her things, sweeping her quill-slash-wand into her book bag along with the spare parchment she'd been scribbling notes on. "To the Library, then?" she asked. Lily was muttering angrily about '_all the time I could've been reading and learning, honestly, when I learn some spells and get my hands on them_', but she quickly packed her things, too, and then they were off.

* * *

"What d'you think would happen if we added the Beetle's Eyes _before _stirring?" Antia asked suddenly, interrupting the silence. The two girls had become fast friends, and they spent most breaks ensconced in the Library, reading and talking. They had study sessions often; at first, to help Antia catch up to the others, but then it branched out to Antia teaching Lily about the Wizarding World, and Lily teaching her about the Muggle World.

This afternoon in particular was a Potions Day. They were looking into the possibilities of adapting the Pepper Up Potion into something more Muggle-friendly. Since Lily had explained that Muggles couldn't cure the common cold, they'd tried giving the potion to Lily's parents. Unfortunately, something about the magic in the potion ingredients must have been incompatible with Muggles, and the Pepper Up hadn't worked.

(They'd tested the potions on each other first, of course, and then they'd gone and asked the nurse what would happen if a Muggle drank it – _"Really, the students are getting more and more precocious every year; the school projects these days! When I was a student, we didn't even __**have**__ preparatory schools… Hmmm… Well, nothing harmful would happen, these ingredients are all fine even for animals, but would it work? I don't think anyone's ever tried, really…_")

They'd done more testing, and when Mr. and Mrs. Evans had written back and said that they'd felt some heat in the ears after the batch without the Mandrake Root, _well_. It must've been because the Mandrakes required magic to grow properly, Antia's Mum theorized, when they'd asked her. Thus, the experiments with the more… mundaneparts of the potion.

"I don't know how that would react with the Nightshade," Lily frowned, flipping back a few pages in her book to look for something. "I mean, it's not as strong as proper Mandrake Root, is it, so the Beetle's eyes might dilute it before its properties can get mixed in properly…"

"Unless we add in some Portuguese Sardine's Oil," Antia said thoughtfully. "The oil would have properties of pungency, and concentration, so they could strengthen the Root – "

"And adding the oil would also help make the consistency more like the original potion," Lily finished excitedly, grabbing her quill and scribbling notes onto their notebook. Lily had asked her mother to send her some, along with a few pencils and a sharpener. The bound paper made organization a lot easier, and Antia had to admit the pencils were more convenient for scribbling down ideas, many of which had to be erased soon after. There was a handy spell for getting rid of ink, but it was tedious having to reach for your wand and cast a spell when you could flip the pencil over and rub it out instead.

They had bonded over the discovery – by both of them, really – that another world existed, and they were determined to learn all they could from each other. Lily was fascinated by Pureblood customs and magical theory – _"Really, Pureblood tradition says Magic __**itself**__ gave life to wizards and witches? What about the Muggles, then?"_- and Antia was shocked to discover that Muggle life wasn't what she'd thought it was, after all. (_"What d'you mean braces aren't a torture device? They're bits of metal in your __**mouth**__, holding your teeth into a painful position!"_)

All in all, it looked like the beginnings of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

**Author's Note**: It's been a little while, hasn't it? Life's been funny. Just wanted to say that no, I'm not pulling things out of my coat pocket, Portuguese Sardine really is a potions ingredient, check the wiki! *grin* And I figured it would have, er, concentrative properties, what with the pungency of preserved fish, and all. Mandrake Root is a listed ingredient of the Pepperup Potion, which cures the Common Cold. (And come on, everyone, _braces_! I can totally see someone thinking they're meant for torture!) Anyway, leave me a review, darlings? I'll give you sardines if you do!

* * *

**Omake**:

A five-year-old Antia burst into tears, wailing so loudly that her mother heard her from the hallway.

"What's wrong, Antia?" she asked, alarmed, picking her daughter up and glancing around the library for some unseen danger.

Antia pointed at the heavy tome she had been reading, the cover of which read _Muggle Advances: the Metal and the Mortifying_. The book was open to a page containing illustrations of a child whose mouth looked to be held by a thin curve of metal. The device was connected to the poor boy's teeth, and looped around to connect to bits of rubber at either side of his face. His mouth was trapped in a grimace, and his eyes were tight.

Below the image was a lurid description of what the muggles meant to do with it. Apparently, the 'braces' were used as punishment for children who spoke too much; stricter parents paid 'Dentists' to stick the metal in the children's mouths. They were so called because the victims were told to brace themselves before the torture, and the Dentists were to ones putting dents in their teeth, to make room for the metal implantations. It was horrific, the things Muggles did to their children.

_'I have never been happier to have left the Muggle world,_' Eileen thought to herself as she held Antia tightly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Not Quite so Stern**

**Summary**: Severus, a masculine name meaning 'stern'. Canon shows a man who lives up to it. We know his story, the tragedy of life and love, loss and sacrifice, pain and pressure. This time, Eileen Snape gives birth to a baby girl. Will she do any better?

_Chapter Five_

* * *

"I am so proud of all of you today," Mrs. Galuinne's voice rang clearly through the auditorium, the _Sonorus_ spell in effect. "It has been – goodness, it's been three joyful years of learning and laughter, of magic and mathematics, of friendship and flicking quills. Most of you will be going on to institutions of higher learning; some of you to Hogwarts in Scotland, others to Beauxbatons in France, some of you across oceans, to Salem… And if I'm not mistaken, one of you is even going to China!"

The students, seated in neat rows of navy blue toga and matching caps with tassels, let out a cheer.

"The point I'm getting at, ladies and gentlemen," their former-teacher-turned-principal continued, "Is that no matter where you are going, you will all be going onto bigger and more fantastic things. You will continue to learn, you will continue to grow." She smiled at the graduates, eyes blurring a little as the image of 11-year-old wizards and witches in training was overlaid with a vision of the 8-year-olds they had begun as. It was not so great a difference as their future teachers would see, granted, but those three years were far enough. They had come in awkward little children, and while they were still little and slightly awkward, they were growing. Graduations always made her teary eyed, maybe more so when she'd just been a teacher.

"But never forget where you began – at the Academy for Gifted Junior Warlocks. Here is where you began your journey into the depths of Magick, and here is where you first realized what you could become. We have not only taught you Latin and wand movements, we have taught you about who you are, and what you can do. And we hope you will never forget that. Thank you."

The students stood and clapped loudly, standing up to applaud their principal's last speech to them. Those neat lines disappeared as people hugged, jumped up and down, and _roared_. This was exactly what all of them had been waiting for. It was time for them to go to the equivalent of Big Kid School; a definite promotion on the way to Becoming A Real Witch/Wizard.

The proper Big Kid Schools, like Hogwarts and Durmstrang and 魔法学校 and Beauxbatons, were where you got to use _real_ wands, cast _real_ spells, and become _real_ warlocks. After years of flicking quills and chanting Latin that didn't do anything? Saying everybody was excited was an understatement.

Two of the most excited new graduates were Lily Evans and Sperantia Prince.

"Can you really believe it?" Lily gushed, waving her graduation cap around. The brightness in her eyes and demeanor would tell Antia just how excited Lily was, not that she hadn't known already. She chuckled. "Of course I can, Lily, it's all we've talked about for weeks – but I'm just as excited as you are," Antia confessed.

They were going to Hogwarts. There was never any question in it, of course. It _was_ the best school in Great Britain; Lily's parents didn't want to send her off too far, they were barely comfortable with Scotland, and Antia's family 'had been going to Hogwarts for centuries, of course she was going!'

They had asked around for stories about the Fine School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Lily had gotten the latest edition of _Hogwarts, A History_. The girls had found out as much as they could about the castle… And the grounds, and the classes, and the library, and the school rules. Lily had decided she was going to be in Gryffindor, and Antia was determined to go into Ravenclaw.

Of course, their future Houses were all any of the graduates could talk about. Ravenclaw was supposed to have a secret, private library even better than the Main Library, though Antia doubted it. Slytherin was rumored to help its Seventh Years find really high-ranking jobs '_everywhere_,' a friend's older brother had said haughtily, '_even if they don't want them!'_. Gryffindor was said to conduct initiations the night you were Sorted; if you didn't pass, they made you go to Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff was generally considered the least impressive of the four Houses, but apparently they had really fun House Parties, with lots of food and joking around.

Her grandfather had given her an hour-long speech about how Slytherin was an Ancient and Noble House, but then her grandmother had taken her aside and told her Ravenclaw was quite acceptable, as she had been one, too. Considering the days Anita had spent reading in the Family Library, she had been pretty sure she was going to go Blue, so to hear it from the elder woman was reassuring. Her own mother had talked to her about House Rivalry, and how Slytherins were respected but disliked; and while once she might have hated Muggles on principle on account of her father alone (her mother had told her about him, too), Lily had convinced her that not all non-Magicals were so bad. Mr. and Mrs. Evans even let the girls test potions on them, for Merlin's sake!

It was that newly found tolerance that led Antia to smile at Lily's parents, when they insisted on taking Muggle photos of the girls. She much preferred the moving Wizard pictures her Mother was taking, but she could understand. She even went along with Lily's insistence on raising two fingers as a 'funny' pose. She wondered why it was supposed to be two fingers; wouldn't it be better to be number one?

After an hour or two of walking around the auditorium, greeting old friends and taking pictures, it was time to leave. Antia and the Princes were going to France for the summer, and they'd invited Lily, but she declined. Her parents didn't want her going away for so long just before she went to boarding school. It was something Eileen could understand, and she took no offense. Servius said a few things about such a generous invitation being rejected by Muggles, but with a Look from Aurora, he grumbled that he would, of course, be polite.

The two families exchanged polite greetings while their daughters nattered on their goodbyes. George Evans chatted a bit with Servius and Aurora about the Academy, and how Hogwarts would compare. Eileen and Rose made small talk about Paris, where it turned out Lily's grandparents had lived for a round decade, before moving to England. Eileen took down the name of a few cafés Rose recommended, and Servius got to go on a bit about the 'centuries-old traditions of Wizarding education'. In short, everyone was sufficiently entertained for the five minutes it took the girls to say goodbye. When Lily and Antia had given each other last hugs, the Princes left for the International Portkey they'd commissioned, and the Evanses went to find the broom parking they'd left their car in.

* * *

"And there's the Hogwarts Express!" Sperantia said excitedly, gesturing grandly at the scarlet metal coach. Its great whistle was shrieking, calling for the students that would be its passengers; Antia's grandmother had said that Princes 'did not stand around waiting for other people to arrive', and so they'd left the Manor just five minutes before the time printed on her ticket. She had arranged to meet Lily at the pilot of the train, and they had hugged each other upon meeting. It was an awkward embrace, for both girls' arms were full with owl cages and book bags, but both were joyful nonetheless. It had been several weeks since the friends had seen each other. They'd had owl post, of course, but letters didn't compare to real company. "The Hogwarts Express! It even looks just like the pictures!"

"Yes," Lily grinned teasingly, a sideways smirk that was different from her usual sincere smile, "All the better to help you recognise them. There are many different _kinds_ of trains, you know."

"Oh, hush," Antia blushed, remembering the occasion Lily referenced with embarrassing clarity – the two girls had gone into London with Lily's mother to run a few errands, and they'd taken the rail. She could still remember her shock that the Muggles had built such a beautiful, fast-looking thing; weren't Muggle trains supposed to belch out black smoke? Grandfather had told her about the metal monstrosities, and how wizards had improved on the design; clearly, the Muggles had not been idle the some-fifty years he hadn't walked among them!

In fact, Antia had begun to realize that much of what her grandparents said about Muggles was like that. Mostly, it was information that had been right decades ago, or anecdotes of somebody's second cousin, or something a relative had seen Muggles do. She still loved them, but she began to grow wary of telling her grandparents about all the things Lily showed her. They were rather conservative, and she didn't want to shock them with the movies or foods the Muggles had to offer. Instant noodles, for example – Antia could still hardly believe they'd invented such a thing!

"You two had best get going, before the train leaves," Eileen said briskly, glancing at the watch on her wrist. Antia loved that watch; it didn't have numbers, but rather an accurately changing painting of the sun's position in the sky. The rendition was done in 18-karat gold ink, and the watch itself was thin, almost dainty silver. The strap seemed more like that of a bracelet than a watch. It was the most beautiful jewelry Antia had ever seen, and she had the secret, selfish hope of receiving it on her seventeenth birthday.

"Yes, you'll be all right, won't you?" Rose Evans asked, tucking one of her daughter's stray curls away from her face. "Your father and I love you," she reminded Lily, giving her a goodbye kiss on the cheek. Antia was still sometimes surprised by the easy affection Lily's family had, all easy kisses and admissions of love. The Princes – and, as far as she could tell, most of the Pureblood families – were much more conservative, preferring to show their affection only in private. She and her mother had said their goodbyes at home, with her grandparents squeezing her in almost-painful embraces as she was reminded of her duties and responsibilities.

"_Don't forget to write," her mother had said seriously, and Antia had thought she saw a few tears glisten. "I want updates on your schoolwork, your friends, your professors – "_

"_And your House, of course, dear girl!" her grandfather added. "I admit I am incredibly curious to see where you turn up; your House will be your family away from your family – "_

"_But you must still remember your family," her mother had smiled then, one eyebrow raised teasingly. "Do try and remember to miss us, won't you?"_

There were no such jokes now; Eileen Prince's public face was a stoic one. She had always been that way, her grandmother had said, and so she didn't mind much. Antia gave her mother's hand a tight squeeze, and received one in return.

* * *

Eileen had cast Feather-Light Charms on their trunks, and so the girls had no problem lifting them into the train. After a few tries, they found an empty compartment, and settled in to make themselves comfortable. Trunks went under the seats, to be taken care of by the house elves, and owl carriers were opened.

The girls had both gotten owls over the summer. Lily's parents had bought her a friendly barn owl with rings around his eyes. Lily had named him Ringo, supposedly after a famous Muggle singer. Antia's grandparents had picked out a black eagle owl for her. She had dubbed him Duke – "_You do get it, don't you? I'm a Prince, but he's my pet, so he's a Duke!_". Duke was content to fly a few circles around the compartment, but Ringo zoomed out the open window as soon as his cage was open. Lily fretted about him, until Antia explained the bond Post Owls had with their Owners.

It was somewhere in the middle of this explanation – "_They say the owls with really strong bonds can find recipients with just a name; Grandfather says it usually takes ages for that to happen, though – _" when the compartment door opened, and a dark-haired boy stuck his head inside.

"Hullo," he said, grinning, "I'm James Potter. You wouldn't mind if me and my friends joined you, would you? Everywhere else is full."

"You're not very many, are you?" Antia asked, frowning around at the compartment. It wasn't very big, and the girls had been quite liberal in the amount of space they'd taken up with their belongings.

"Nah, just the three of us," he said. "We first years should stick together, shouldn't we?"

"Sure, then," Lily said agreeably. The boy, James, grinned even wider, if that was possible. "Thanks," he said, still looking at Lily. "Come on, guys," he said more loudly, sliding the door open. "And, uh, thank our lovely benefactors," he added, winking at Lily.

Antia raised her eyebrow at that, but put on a neutral smile when two other boys entered the compartment, bearing trunks and owls. "Sperantia Prince, but call me Antia," she said, standing and offering her hand to them. The first boy, who seemed vaguely familiar to her, set his things down on the floor quickly before taking her hand. "Sirius Black," he smiled, looking relived, as he shook her hand firmly. "We've met before," he added, "At one of your grandmother's parties, I think. I went looking for the kitchens, but I got lost – "

Antia chuckled, dropping a bit of the coolness. "Yes, you were trying to call a House Elf, but when I appeared instead, you wondered if I wasn't one of them."

The still-unknown boy, who had sandy hair and rather faded-looking robes, snorted. "In my defense," Sirius chuckled, "You were pretty short, back then." Antia rolled her eyes, and turned her attention to the other boy. "Antia Prince," she said simply, offering her hand again. "Remus Lupin," he shook her hand lightly, a small smile working its way across his face. "Thanks for sharing the compartment."

"It was no problem," Antia replied, glancing at Lily. The redhead was still in conversation with James, and while her voice had taken on a tone of annoyance, her lips were quirked at the corners. Sirius let out a pointed cough, and the pair finally took notice of the other members of the compartment.

"Oh!" Lily blushed, a deep red that nearly matched her hair. "I'm sorry, I'm Lily Evans." Introductions went around again, and then James introduced himself to Antia properly – _"James Potter. You know, I think we've met before…" _– but Antia cut him short, asking everyone what Houses they wanted to get into. Their three new acquaintances were no less excited for the Sorting than their former classmates had been, and a long discussion ensued.

"Gryffindor, definitely!" James said loudly, swishing his wand around like a sword. "Where dwell the brave at heart – like my dad." Antia snorted, making him frown. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," Antia said casually, "Lily's going Gryffindor, herself. But whatever House you get into, it's going to be a personal thing. You can't just copy your dad's Sorting, that's ridiculous."

"You don't think House is determined by family, then?" Sirius interjected.

"No, I don't," Antia answered honestly. "At least, not unless you let it."

Sirius looked thoughtful at her reply, but didn't say anything. There was a beat of awkward silence, before Remus spoke up. "I'd like to be in Gryffindor, I think," he said shyly. "Though, they say Ravenclaw's got some amazing books – "

And the group fell back into conversation, ranging from the House System to the Professors to the subjects they'd be studying. Lily and Antia found a kindred bookworm in Remus, and they enthused over the intricacies of Hogwarts: A History. James and Sirius bonded over Quidditch teams and maneuvers. It was a long but uneventful ride; the excitement was still ahead.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yes, it has been a while, hasn't it? I apologise for the delay; things have been a bit hectic, but I've made the decision to simplify and spend more time writing. The next update shouldn't be too far away, for anybody still reading this.

This is an alternate universe. If you didn't know it then, you know it now. I realize Sperantia is very different from how Severus would have been. I'd like to think that a large amount of the animosity between Snape and MWPP would have come from simply having too much testosterone in one situation. The train ride, for example, where Snape laughs about James's House choice. By giving Snape a larger emotional range, and the background that would give a previous acquaintance and the lack of 'Slytherin-or-bust' attitude we see in canon… Well, this is how I imagine things could have gone.

(Socially speaking, Snape would have grown up hearing only about his mother's House; not exactly fair representation. Here, Antia has been to school and around classmates of varying opinions, not to mention her grandparents' influence on her. Think of it as a RPG-character starting off with +50 charisma instead of +50 Bitterness.)

I've been thinking about the possible relationships between Antia and MWPP. She's definitely not going to be buddy-buddy, honorary-marauderette with them, but since Lily won't have reason to think him an arrogant toe-rag anymore, the girls and boys aren't going to be enemies. Since the focus won't be on the relationships' problems – the bullying, the emnity, and the pranking – I plan to develop a very AU plot to take the stage instead.


End file.
